That's "treat others as you want to be treated". We certainly won't like to be 'treats' to others. That's with a totally different meaning. Other than that, what you're saying i agree as the indians are only oppressed with the way the government is handling this. It's not really about racism. The Indians definitely would defend other communities if they're discriminated unjustifyingly too. I mean look at it this way, did the Indians or chinese or caucasians or other smaller community start the fire? The Indians really won't need MIC or the MCA or UMNO to help their people talk to the authorities to settle things amicably. It's the subjected people themselves who don't want this to be an issue. If an issue has to go through the government then it should be said that that issue should by legal right go through a filtration process before to be released.







An example such as with the tv/movie filming industry, the system set is that all completed recorded production need go through their respective censoring boards before getting their rating and approval for public screening. If it's a live production, strict guidelines should be adhered to, else they are immediately taken off the air.
Salman Rushdie's book was condemned by muslims as it contained hurtful remarks of their religion. The muslims globally went on the extreme of putting out death threats onto him. Were the others bothered about it? Yes, we were bothered! Bothered about the idiocy of it all. Firstly, what were the government at Rushdie's residence at that moment doing when his controversial book was released to the public? Were they waiting for atrocity to happen before they can take action? The word is simply, there are no guidelines or strict filtration processes for writers of books before it's made to be released. If there was a system, problematic matters like these could have been reduced. (I use the word "reduced" and not "avoided" due to the existence of various kinds of bureaucracy in any country and as to follow my own quote "In order for peace to prevail, there must be war".)
Secondly, the muslims who decided on giving out the fatwa and threats onto the writer, it actually did reflect the truth about the muslims by their own rash actions, didn't it? Did the muslims wait for the government to ban the book or did they just attempt on their own radically, i don't know. Anyway, the muslims did want to take the drastic action against Rushdie and they still do after all these years had passed.
What makes the Malaysian government think the oppressed people are just going to let things to pass? Haven't the ruling government learnt their lesson of the last election results yet? The majority community of any country will not make big difference to the well-being of the country globally if the minority is oppressed. A fine current example is Egypt now. There's a big majority kind there but look what's happening to the country. The leaders should show their good-self and not attempt to downplay what oppresses the smaller public as well. They are after all your country-men contributing to your country for the well-being of theirs and your country and not foreigners who eventually will demand their share of your country for their contributions. That definitely requires an early strong system to manage them from doing so in the future.
Times of progress have blurred the path from one's good-self for the benefit of others to rather than for one's self and it takes something major to happen to make that realisation return to them but nowadays it'll take several more hits of the same to make them keep reminded of what hurt them the most until it becomes too late. That's the times of progress now we're entering to very soon that's going to be the new bad trend of people for the future. 

As a indian, i think this book should banned or the atleast the "words" should censored, beacuse it just resemble something not about indian community's culture and religion .The author should be more valued other race and religion and do deep research before writing any fact! This is not a politic issue but A SENSITIVE issue among indian people! We indian know better about our history and culture ! This is book is just a another crap by a person who totally lost in control ! Please be more aware and care about other feelings and respect their opinion.Thanks,,, love malaysia

In my opinion there is nothnig wrong with the word Pariah used in literature books. It only refers to a particular Tamil clan known as Paraiyar. The caste system is not necessarily occupational. It is a clan system and Tamil people usually prefer to marry among their own clan. This happens till today in Malaysia. Ask any Tamil parents and they will tell you about it. Each clan has its own tradition, deities and kinship pattern. Over the ages, some Tamil clans became more dominant than the others. They prevented others from climbing up the social ladder. This gave birth to the caste hierarchy which many people know as Varna system. The Indians especially the Tamils are already eradicating caste hierarchy in Malaysia but they cannot destroy the clans. Tamil clans will continue to exist. Besides the Paraiyar, Tamils also have clans such as Vellalar, Vanniyaar, Mukkulathor, Brahmanar, Chettiyar, Nadar etc. Some of these clans have feudotary titles. Some even have surnames and marriage among same surname is forbidden.

Degrading the indians is directly humilating the longest serving Prime Minister of Malaysia-Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad. A very big portion of the so called malays have Indian blood. And many are acctualy Indians who embrased Islam, but call themselves Malays. You can change religions: that is based on belif, but race shows your ancestory. Adderesing your self as being a person of a different race means that you are denying gods creation and also denying god himself.

If somebody call me stupid, idiot ,rascal ,or even more demeaning words i dont put them in my calling card and tell people that i m being call such.If at all i want to complain i would say people are badmouthing me ,thats all because these are not palatable words to the ears.This is my opinion as a common man.Abdullah Hussein being National Laureate should have been more sensitive to use such terms though some one would have actually used the words before on the Indian.By introducing this novel to our students we are just increasing the vulgar word vocabulary for the students.They will without hesitant use these words on others especially indian students which will create extreme tension in schools.We already facing huge disciplinary problem in the schools.Even some teachers are making racially slurred speeches towards Indian students what to speak of when these words are taught in the class rooms.Just imagine indian students sitting in the class and listening that their previous generation was call this and that.For that matter how Malay students will react when they hear that their forefathers was lazy to work in estates, plantations and tough difficult job so much so workers from abroad has to brought in forcibly, in the case of indian workers ?.My opinion is making this novel compulsory for form 5 students means forcefully but subtly increasing the inferiority complex among Indian students and superiority complex among Malay students.This is a very dangerous situation.This a very well planned long term strategy to slowly but surely annihilate Indians in Malaysia.This is the hidden agenda. This do not sound well for national Integration.1 MALAYSIA means nothing if this crap novel is expunged from the schools

I'm sure you meant, "1 MALAYSIA means nothing if this crap novel is NOT expunged from the schools". Back to the topic above, there is another way to take it and give it to them who wants the book to be released. For learnt hindus in current times, we should know it doesn't hurt us with what they want to bring out against us. It only reflects their low mentality. For unlearnt hindus, they should learn & realise the origin of the caste system and learn how mankind had twisted it for purposes of power & greed. Caste was depicted by the creed of people who worked in their own areas. So goes for any other human being who use courage to fight for their country and countrymen and hence be known as a warrior (for instance). In Hinduism, the caste given to such a person is kshatriyan. One who does less and mingle along the lower standards of human behaviour is set as a pariah. These are mere classes of people according to the caste system created by mankind for mankind . Briefly said, there are those who go along to be gurus of knowledge, those who serve for god, warriors, the common people and so on. Each types were classed in the caste system. Yet, those who set the caste upon others are imagining to set themselves as higher beings. Knowing the 'higher beings' now, they're no better. Take this sentence as an example: "It's distasteful for one to be called a pariah just because he acts like one." Think again about it. Act like one? How would one know how a pariah acts now? Can anyone actually tell who's a pariah and who's not these times? Aren't they human beings as those 'higher beings' are too? These times, if a person is judged and profiled on what they do, that person won't like it. If a non-hindu were to keep using the caste system to attempt a personal attack on a hindu, they're actually low casting themselves. They're focussing with what had twisted the human mind going along with the past. Therefore, let them dwell in the past too. It'll be much better for the learning hindus to move on that way. For the timebeing, students should be taught to learn of the truth and not by the whimsical fancy of those who wish to spread propagandas for the ultimate purpose of destruction. Leaders of their own country should not have these propagandas in their plans to undermine their own countrymen. Just what in the world are they thinking to achieve by going along these thin lines anyway? If they're not aware of the truth, they should learn too. Religion and politics are sure hands of mankind to keep creating more lies. There is a path there too for those who wish to keep lying. Know where it'll direct you to.

I don't know who this fellow Abdullah Hussain is. I wonder how many have heard of him? Supposedly Malaysian National Laureate?? I heard the sensitive news on RTM, about how his book has hurt and insulted the Indians of Malaysia. I did not read his book and don't ever intend to, even if I have to play Russian Roulette. Little does this Kaki Lima writer know about Indian history, let alone about their culture, race, beliefs, tradition and faith. Yet he had the audacity to write about Indians in a demeaning way, whereby it hurt, insulted and degraded Indians. How on earth did The Education Ministry even consider his Kaki Lima Novel to be accepted and used as a compulsory subject in Form Five Literature? This proves to show what our former Minister of Education once remarked;" Our Education System is Backwards". I would say, it was never on the forward momentum. If his book ever travelled outside our shores, say India ! I think Abdullah Hussain will not be a free man.

Here, i only speak of what is based from the article above and not for anyone to say that i should or not believe what was posted. If the official gave his view on the literature to the education ministry that it's not for a history textbook but for literature, i agree completely although i've not read the book. If someone has found sensitive issues and thus within knowledge of a ministry itself, there is no need to even look & read the book. If one is to be finding for truth and somewhat defending, i'd say by all means go buy & read it if you're afraid copying it will bring you legal suits. By buying it, you've given your support already wanting to debunk myths & rumours not knowing the true contents. If you've read a little of the contents and decided it's really suiting to your support & you buy the book, you have judged by the few pages of the book. A form 5 student has to undergo the entire textbook in his year of his studies. There is really little time to decide should the book go to schools or not. This book has to go through the ministry to be decided and then for the students to decide the path they choose. Let that fair process go through for it seems to me this book is new and not undergone complete filtration before reaching educational institutions. As i've been a malay literature student myself, it's plain ridiculous how i found the contents of the literature books i've been taught with back then. Still, with no inclination to the contents irrelevant to me, i just absorbed the basic knowledge of the structures of literature and chose to get low marks for the irrelevance of the story whether based on truth or not. I pondered how knowing the story would benefit me in my future career. Oh, how i've read and learnt from an insensitive malay teacher how provocative such malay literature writers can be towards students who are in the learning process. During my times in my secondary school, i was learning which groups to avoid for the future and you know what.... after decades, i still feel i'm getting back to school. No plain reader should judge on his own fair support of the content of the book that it be released for others and especially for students to read too. That's being insensitive already. Let's not judge either ways, just stay neutral, be plain sensitive to all sides and speak on fact, experiences and truth on what's being spelled in the textbooks nowadays. To make the views more clear and fair, how about getting all the teachers (not just the malays) and the students to place their honest views on what's been taught in schools here.. and then maybe we could come to some plans for a brighter country? If the textbook writers are bent on their own agendas, what do you think the country will be cropping for the future? If politicians are bent on their own propaganda, god knows what's lurking behind for the people of the country in the near future.

In a haste to make money, using the IMalaysia theme, Abdullah Hussain, has penned this so called novel. To make the passage way easier for selection of his novel in the education mainstream, he has cleverly inserted some racial slurs ( hitting out at the NON-Malays) that is normally accepted and protected by the UMNO overlords and the Education Ministry officials. Sadly, it shows how low national laureates will go to make money. Judging from his book, Abdullah Hussain is a street laureate (karyawan kaki lima) churns out garbage litterature(sastera sampah).